a man president obama has called an american original. he was a four-star general. but most americans simply knew him as stormin' norman. in 1990, norman schwarzkopf was a little-known army general looking towards retirement. a west point graduate and decorated officer for his service in vietnam, he spent his entire career in the army. but when iraq's dictator, saddam hussein, invaded kuwait in 1990, stormin' norman became a household name. as the leader of the u.s.-led international coalition that quickly drove iraqi forces out of kuwait, schwarzkopf achieved rock star status. he returned from the persian gulf a national hero. and was awarded the medal of freedom for service to his country. after retirement, he declined offers from both parties to run for political office. president george h.w. bush issued a statement saying, general norman schwarzkopf epitomized the duty service, country creed, that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our crisis. barbara and i mourn the loss of a true american patriot and one of the great military leaders o